Debate, network and gain essential business intelligence at the Nursery World Business Summit

Nursery World is presenting its 2024 annual Business Summit on Friday February 2, at the Gallery Hall at the Business Design Centre in Islington, London, under the umbrella of the Nursery World Show. Delegates will have the opportunity to visit the Show exhibition.

The focus will be on an interactive event, designed to provide delegates with a platform to debate, network, gain valuable business intelligence and hear from sector experts.

With the Government’s planned expansion of subsidised childcare for the children of working parents, nursery businesses face big changes coming down the track. 

Big changes pose big questions: How can nurseries meet increased demand from parents for places in the midst of a recruitment crisis and when funding is widely criticised as falling short of the cost of delivery? 

These developments are set against the backdrop of a busy period of mergers and acquisitions, raising concerns about the availability of provision in areas of disadvantage, and how the shape of the market can continue to support a variety of large and small providers, who operate with different business models.

Underpinning this, are the increasingly complex demands of providing high quality early education and care to every child.

We intend to get to grips with all of this with a line up of speakers keen to share their knowledge and invite delegates’ views.

The conference includes:

• Keynote on early years education and childcare policy from the Children’s Minister David Johnston (to be confirmed)
• Q& A with Ofsted early education lead Wendy Ratcliff, hosted by NW deputy editor Catherine Gaunt, providing an update on key developments on inspections and what the sector might expect under new chief inspector Sir Martyn Oliver.
• Big debate: How does the size of a nursery business influence the quality of early years care and education?
  Chaired by NW Editor Karen Faux, the panel includes June O’Sullivan, LEYF; Neil Leitch, Early Years Alliance; Courteney Donaldson, Christie & Co; Mya Sharma, Ely Nursery; Elaine Saygar, Sunflower Childcare Centre. Your chance to pose questions to the panel and engage in discussion around current challenges and opportunities. If you are registered for the Business Summit, please send any questions you would like to pose to the panel, in advance to karen.faux@markallengroup.com
• Latest analysis of early years spending and policy from Christine Farquharson at the Institute for Fiscal Studies. An expert view on what the figures really tell us about the health of the early years market.
• Is training the key to staff retention and more efficient teams? A look at new training opportunities and a perspective on the importance of skills that graduates can bring to nursery businesses. Delivered by Tanya Richardson and Philippa Thompson, both of the Early Childhood Studies Degrees Network.
• Local authorities are set to see their management of the early years market become more challenging as the Government rolls out its expanded childcare offer. Jodie Reed of Isos explores what providers can expect and how they can work proactively with them.
• Want to make your nursery business more environmentally friendly but unsure of what it might cost? Diane Wycherley of Tops Day Nurseries provides an interactive session highlighting how to make the right choices to be environmentally and financially sustainable.

You can register here